The Mind of a Time Lord
by RRed
Summary: A case goes terribly wrong and Sherlock is found on his own running through a dangerous storm, he is saved by a passing traveller; what will he deduce of this? And what will this man ask of him? There will be eventual slash.
1. Chapter 1

It was stormy, there would be many lightning strikes tonight; Sherlock ran. The wide open meadow would be directly hit by the lighting, and shelter was miles away. The unanticipated had occurred and suddenly his stomach began to churn; a fleeting image passed through his mind and the smell of chlorine ran past his nose. The emotion of rushing and shock; shock was not a feeling he'd become accustomed to, the knowledge that he had not known and a great fear of the unknown. Watson walking out and looking at him, his eyes filled with something he could not interpret and within that moment he lost of sense of reality; his reality was his deduction, knowing and understanding the grounded and anticipated truth- he'd lost that within a moment when Watson walked out. He'd soon regained it, understanding that he'd been tricked momentarily, but the feeling lingered, insecurity and slight defeat; not knowing the truth.

His black curls were flat against his head and his chest heaved; their plan had been disrupted that night and consequently Sherlock had, had to run away before the mafia came to shoot the man they intended to arrest. There was no true shelter from a lighting strike, unless he could find a car or a house which he truly did not know if he could find any time soon. A tree did seem the only and best option; he quivered as the wetness of the rain touched his skin.

Lestrade had been with him, Watson had not come tonight, Sarah had caught his attention more than usual lately; a small fact that disappointed and shook Sherlock, although he was more than aware it was to be expected. His cold heart was unable to give Watson with the attention he deserved, his conviction was clear; his drive was to build his mind, his one and true passion. A sudden rush of wind blew his scarf into his face and he stumbled momentarily, as something began to form in the corner of his sight.

There was a rushing into his lungs of large amounts of air, as though a vacuum had begun near him, Sherlock stood deathly still, his heart beating softly; was there someone close by? Had someone by chance followed him? Spinning, he should kick the lower leg; palming the face and…

A sound began, quiet at first; the huge claps of thunder over head drowned out the sound but gradually an object began to form. Sherlock gasped for air as the wind surrounding him was ferocious, a nervousness rushed through him; his legs rooted to the spot as the water flowed down his face. His hair was soaked, covering his eyes from the full understanding of what had happened. He gave the smallest of whimpers, but his lips only swallowed in the rain; what was happening? The rain anticipated for today had been…, wind reaching up to…, perhaps there some sort from transport near by, Lestrade could not have caught him up this quickly, traffic on the outskirt would be… A clap of thunder caught his attention, and lighting flashed before his eyes, whatever had happened he needed to find a shelter fast. Nature was indifferent to his quest.

Sherlock shook the hair out of his eyes, if he was moving whilst the lightning struck the water on the ground he would not be hurt- he prepared his legs for a sprint, and looked forward. Lighting flashed once again, and suddenly a structure appeared before him, it was clear for only a millisecond but Sherlock could be sure of what it was- a police box. The blue was what caught his eye first; and the obvious faults in its designs, perhaps left here and forgotten since 1960? But there had been a figure was waiting in the doorway; holding the door open, and an arm reached out towards him. There was light from inside the police box, but the darkness of the night fell upon the figure's face.

The rain pelted and Sherlock began to deduce the risks. 84% of the population in Britain have committed crimes online, such as illegal downloading, although only 13% will ever commit violent crime or abuse. Remaining outdoors he had a 67% change of lighting striking him or somewhere very close. The risk involved in following stranger was lower, so he would trust this man. The light was inviting, and his lungs began to struggle for air as water hammered him from above, he had to surely run! He picked up his pace, and threw his scarf off so he could see clearer- the light was close.

Heat radiated onto his body and beckoned him in, and for a moment he thought of John- he hoped he was safe and hadn't come after them when Lestrade told him what has happened. There was a smell of strange oil and smoke and brushing past the stranger he fell inwards, lighting striking the ground only meters behind him. There was a clanging of a door and suddenly Sherlock was inside.

The first thing he noticed was the radiating heat, a wooden box could not contain this much heat in stormy weather and soon questions were rushing through his mind. Shaking, he stood up and glanced around; his eyes adjusting after the darkness of the night. The interior was large, larger than the exterior had made it appear- stairs lead up to a large piece of machinery that was located in the middle of the room of what appeared to be a room, and ascended into the ceailing. Sherlock's heart stopped and he breathed in the strange smells, unearthly smells; felt the texture of the railing and soon his heart started again.

The brown and orange pillars were what caught his eyes the most, the beautiful wavy rocks which flowed all the way into the ceiling. He realised that he had been rotating around to view the room and was now facing the door once again. He looked at it, it was the same shape as the door on the outside, and the memory of falling in once again returned to him and the image of the man who had been holding it open- beckoning him in, he suddenly remembered.

"Well hello?" he heard a voice ask from behind him. Sherlock spun around and saw a tall thin man, his suit pinstriped, eyes brown and quizzical. There was the slightest of smiles in the corner of his mouth, as though Sherlock amused him; Sherlock almost felt a slight smile form on his own.

"Lucky I came when I did" the man said walking towards Sherlock, "That lightning would have got you soon." Sherlock did not feel confronted, and his mind was calm; this man did not seem to want anything from him. He took a step forward and the clank from the mental beneath his feet slightly stunned him, reminding him that this was reality; he was well aware that he had not eaten for 2 days now - but he had not exhibited any light- headedness in the rain, so hallucination as only the smallest of possibilities at the moment.

The man came closer and beckoned for him to take off his coat - it was only then Sherlock was reminded on his physical being and the wet coat he still had on. He remembered his scarf, lost in the rain, and winced slightly- knowing he would not find another one he liked again soon. He hesitated, breathing loudly and began to take off his damp jacket.

"Well you aren't very chatty" the man commented, and suddenly smiled widely "You seem to have taken this better than I thought you would."

Immediately Sherlock looked directly into his eyes. The man had expectations of his reactions- that meant he had previous experiences to judge upon; had he rescued others before? Who was this man? This man who could appear out of nowhere and save him when he least expected it?

"Who are you?" Sherlock questioned him, loudly and directly, his face was unemotional; as it was always. The man seemed taken back slightly, as though Sherlock's reaction was colder than he expected.

"You're not frightened?" the man asked, ignoring Sherlock's previous question "Most humans can't usually comprehend it when they come inside for the first time."

Sherlock moved his head to the side. Humans? He turned around and moved away from the man, any shock having gone within an instant. Sherlock walked directly up to what appeared to be controls and his breath was taken back by their strange beauty.

"What are you doing?" the man rushed up to him in a panic, noticing that Sherlock had taken out a small microscope and was examining things in detail.

Sherlock walked around in a circle, viewing all the controls; but not daring to touch any.

The man followed in behind him, "I must really insist that you move away!"

Sherlock stopped and took a step back. He could feel a strange energy radiating from the machine, and he shivered with glee; wow- it had been so long since he'd been genuinely confused.

The man grasped him on the shoulder concerned, he obviously thought Sherlock was in shock.

"I think you should sit down," he said and offered him the chair, it looked very worn and broken, the springs poking out through the strange material. Sherlock walked towards it with him, but suddenly stopped before sitting down.

"Who are you?" he asked once again, not facing the man. There was a silence.

"I would first like to know who are you?" he replied, slightly worried. He obviously wasn't used to such eccentric 'humans.' Confidently Sherlock turned around and smiled at him for the first time; a small shine of excitement in his eyes.

"I am Sherlock," he said and put out a hand towards the man, "Sherlock Holmes, and you are?"

The man seemed very pleased to have Sherlock talking and grasped his hand happily. "I'm The Doctor," he said with a grin;

Sherlock didn't seem to question his strange name, which surprised him- instead he began to talk. "I must say," Sherlock continued with confidence, "This is some ship you have here"

The man was instantly taken back. "Ship?" he asked, "How do you know it's a ship?"

Sherlock gave a small grin, but soon let it leave his face as he began. "There was a rushing of wind towards me—" he walked past the Doctor and continued, "The wind had been with me all night and the change in direction meant the approaching of a vehicle, there was a glowing of a blue light and when the lighting flashed I noticed it was from the top of the police box; the door says 'pull to open' yet you were holding it open inwards; an obvious fault in design not to be made often, meaning it was constructed by someone who didn't really understand it's meaning or was terrible at building. The police box seemingly appeared out of no where, although it was hard to tell in the dark. When entering the police box I noticed the immediate heat and lights- the blue exterior indicates that this is a design from the 1960's although such technology could not be installed or heat contained in such a structure. I noticed that you are not wet, expect for that the tips of your fingers are damp from holding the door open; but your back is not wet, meaning you have not been out in the rain yourself, the rest of the interior is not wet and the ceiling does not appear darkened or weakened by the rain and on top of that we can not hear the rain pelting on the roof. Therefore as I noticed when I walked in, the exterior appearance is quite separate from the interior, and- therefore the appearance of a police box is in some way a disguise, some sort of shield or cover device."

The Doctor moved in towards him. "Now hang on!" he said and grasped Sherlock-

Sherlock did not appear stunned and simply looked at him. "Do you want me to continue?" he asked the Doctor.

There was a moment of silence as the other man stared at him, his eye deep and intelligent. He watched Sherlock weighing him up and a smile of curiosity formed on his face, "Please do."

Sherlock felt a small tingle from the Doctor's welcome to his ideas and continued. "When examining the controls in the centre of the room I noticed navigation equipment, therefore this is some sort of ship. The controls are very dusty and old, as though slightly out-dated and not used. The range of controls and the circular nature of the panel suggestes the need for multiple piloits and crew members. But you are alone; you have no crew or others with you, or at least one's that know how to fly this ship,- perhaps your crew members are missing? But then why would you be so willing to pick me up in your rush? You have no other crew members expect yourself, and picked me up because you are alone and seek to help others."

Sherlock moved away from the other man and stared at the door of the ship. The Doctor did not move with him, as though he understood the conclusion the other man had come to. "This ship is rating a strange sort of energy, something I could not recognise or understand. The technology that you have, the ability to create the illusion of a small police box when the interior is larger is beyond me… but it draws me to only one conclusion."

He turned around slowly to see The Doctor grinning wildly a twinkle in his eye and Sherlock felt his heart race. "That you are some sort of time traveling, extra-terrestrial explorer." Saying the words aloud made Sherlock feel light- headed, but his body remained confident and straight. He could not say he was not surprised that he had made such a conclusion but he did not doubt the clear evidence- once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

"Brilliant!" rhe Doctor exclaimed, "Absolutely brilliant!" He stood amazed. "I haven't met you before have I? Sometimes I'll make a passing comment to someone and forget that I've seen them."

Sherlock made a gesture towards him. "No, I don't believe that I have met you before." he answered and walked back towards the other man. "And I thank you for rescuing me from the lighting". He gave the Doctor a small nod of gratitude causing him to feel pleased.

"Well, you certainly got everything almost correct!" the Doctor replied, "In all my travelling I have certainly never met a human like you,"

"Almost!" Sherlock questioned, cutting him off, and tThe Doctor gave him a small smile, noticing his insecurity.

"I use to have crew members" the Doctor said, looking into the distance., "But I've decided to travel on my own now…"

Sherlock sighed, "And by that you mean, you lost them." The Doctor gave him a death stare and suddenly Sherlock froze, understanding he'd over stepped a line and could almost hear John's words in his mind saying 'not good.'

"I'm…" Sherlock felt a slight awkwardness as he couldn't understand such things.

"Don't worry, I understand you're a sociopath" The Doctor said, calming. He moved over to the control panel and began to flick and turn things; Sherlock still standing away from him.

"That energy you felt" the Doctor said, not looking back, "She's called the TARDIS." He once again smiled and turned back to Sherlock and beckoned him over to the controls.

Sherlock walked over to the controls nervously. He was suddenly wary- he didn't honestly know who this 'man' was. "You appear human," Sherlock began, "But you're not a man."

The Doctor looked up at him. "Well technically, we came first" he replied. "You look Time Lord"

"That's the name of your race? Time lords?" The Doctor nodded-

"Yes" he answered. Though he smiled, there was a sadness behind his eyes that Sherlock couldn't understand.

"The Doctor?" Sherlock asked again, "Is that your name?"

"I chose it" the Doctor answered indirectly, and it was clear that he was not willing to talk about it anymore. "Anyway, what's with all these questions?- I got the impression that you don't need to ask questions very often, Sherlock." His face was once again rosy and warm.

"Well, I wanted to know more about my rescuer," Sherlock replied simply and gave a small grin. "I am now in your debt Doctor- and I thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing" The Doctor replied and walked around, touching parts of the TARDIS without thinking-"I was actually planning to land in the middle of London, have a bit of sight seeing; but the old girl got a bit confused."

Sherlock was amused by the Doctor's sensitive behaviour towards his ship.

"TARDIS?" He asked "Is that it's name?" very curious

The Doctor suddenly got very excited. "Oh yes! Time and Relative Dimension in Space!" He giggled slightly and Sherlock felt warm by The Doctor's happiness.

"It's beautiful…" Sherlock said in awe. The name brought a tingle to his stomach, - his mind beginning to spin imagining all the experiments he could conduct upon this ship, all the knowledge that would be so redundant from everyday earth life when living here. He surely didn't want to leave.

"Can I ask you something, Sherlock?" The Doctor was suddenly very close, Sherlock having got caught up in his thoughts again. "You seemed in an awful hurry to get as far away from the side road, when there was much more likely hood of finding help out there, what were you running away from?"

Sherlock gave a slight smirk, remembering the previous events of that night. "I'm a detective…" Sherlock replied, "the world's only Consulting Detective."

The Doctor gave him a look as if to say 'I was expecting that', and nodded. "Were you on a case tonight, Holmes?"

Sherlock gave a slight nod back, but decided to give no further details. "How did you know I was a sociopath?" he asked.

The Doctor looked at him concerned. "It's obvious isn't it?"

Sherlock dropped his gaze slightly. "Not to everyone it isn't."

The Doctor suddenly looked very pompous. "Well I'm not everyone." He said, a sparkle in his eyes "I think you in particular Sherlock, understand that most people notice very little."

Sherlock felt a relief wash over him suddenly, as though for the first time he was speaking to his equal.

"There is one that you can do to repay me" the Doctor said, moving in closer, so close that Sherlock could feel the heat of his breath "Travel with me."


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor's eyes spoke to him more than his words did and Sherlock felt every inch of his body melt- traveling, through all of time and space; he may never be bored again. The Doctor could see his thoughts clearly, and Sherlock questioned what abilities that he may exhibit as a time lord; could he read his mind? Images of John suddenly flashed through his own, of Lestrad grasping him and screaming- they would all be in panic now; there could be search groups out looking for him; what a waste of tax payers money. John would have left Sarah mid dinner, rushing out in the cold and rain to find him; he would search for days- weeks if he had to, and Sherlock knew he would never give up. His heart began to pain thinking of John, could he leave him so easily? London and the world he knew inside out, John wouldn't be able to pay the rent on his own- he would be forced to move into a share house and then…

Sherlock realised that his breath had become very loud, his eyes darting around whilst he thought "You can't leave him behind can you?" The Doctor suddenly asked, and Sherlock let out a heavy sigh, "Him?" He asked, although he was aware that The Doctor had deduced it himself, and received a sly smile from the time lord.

"The risks don't worry me," Sherlock said, turning away from The Doctor "I am well aware that I could be killed at any instant traveling with you-"

"But has that ever stopped you?" The Doctor asked, with a wicked smile on his face; there was a silence and the TARDIS made some strange noises but The Doctor did not seem stirred. The space in the TARDIS was wide and appeared draftee but the room was warm and comfortable and Sherlock could feel himself start to relax more and more; although he still remained very cold faced; not that this seemed to confront The Doctor, as it did to most people; it was as though The Doctor could see right into him- and he could see The Doctor; a strange connection that he had held with very little people- often not even with John. He was talking to a man who could for once, had seen and understood more then him perhaps; and although it was confronting, it was rather exciting.

"Never" Sherlock answered outright, he suddenly felt the need to push The Doctor away; he knew that if he did not leave soon he might become rapped up in something that he could never escape. The Doctor seemed to understand his sudden fear

"Why do you do it then?" He asked with a sudden panic in his voice, he had found a human beyond any other he'd ever met- he was not going to loose him so quickly. He could never force someone to stay against their will, but usually they weren't so hard to make stay when he wanted; but Sherlock was different and he understood this- a man of intelligence almost of his own and a man that he may finally be able to connect with. He found male humans always the hardest to befriend, females were often easy to charm and impress; but males were too competitive and difficult to understand, but Sherlock had hit a chord in his hearts- perhaps he could finally have an equal that was not insane, as The Master had been.

"Why do I do it?" Sherlock asked back, sarcastically as though the question needed answering. He stared at The Doctor, his eyes deep and fixed on himself, Sherlock's eyes trailed over the infrastructure of the TARDIS and was once again taken back in awe; shapes and colours he had never seen; technology that he had never touched or even been able to invent; this place was truly his dream; if he had ever conjured such a thing.

"I do it because everything else is so-"

"Boring?" The Doctor finished his sentence for him, his tongue playing with his teeth; he was smiling cheeky, hands in his pockets. Sherlock was taken back, but suddenly understood. He walked towards The Doctor,

"Can you read my mind?" He asked, not jokingly

"I can, but I haven't been" he answered, "Sherlock I don't know how else to say this, but I honestly don't want you to leave"

Sherlock felt his chest tingle, but he remained composed "I have other things... the case I'm on…" he felt his chest heave, how could be seriously believe any of those things were important now when he had this opportunity? But a sudden coldness washed over him, and he understood he could never truly leave it behind; he couldn't not let himself stay.

"One flight?" The Doctor asked.

Suddenly there was a rush of sound and flashes erupted from the control panel and a screen flipped on, shapes flashing. Sherlock was shocked, but The Doctor once again didn't seemed that fussed, only annoyed "Oh! Alright, alright I'm coming!" he walked over and began to flip some buttons and pull leavers mumbling to himself, his behaviour and indulgence reminded Sherlock of someone- himself.

"What's happened?" He asked, very curiously. The Doctor didn't turn back, and instead pulls out some glasses from his pocket and placing them on his angelic face- although Sherlock was well aware he did not need them. "Oh, the damn thermostat has been trying very hard to keep balance so the freibondator is having trouble remaining connected to the CAL cord and now the thermostat is refusing to stay on one temperature- she's one moodily girl today!" the way The Doctor spoke caused Sherlock to gush to himself slightly, the raw intelligence that seemed to fall off his tongue was thrilling. The Doctor pulled down a lever and made a sound of triumph, pressed something and spun around throwing his arms up in the air, "Oh, I'm brilliant! Saving someone and reconnecting the CAL cord in one day, I'm on fire!"

Sherlock smirked to himself, he wasn't usually so caught up in other people enthusiasm but The Doctor brought him a sense of comfort and enjoyment, as he understand that the other man seemed to be truly intelligent. The Doctor faced him and leaned against the panel watching him and Sherlock walked up to the panel once again to study it.

"So what exactly can this TARDIS do?" He asked and smiled, The Doctor leaned in towards him "Let me take you on a trip and you'll find out" Sherlock looked directly into his eyes, "You are certainly trying your hardest to excite me aren't you Doctor?" He asked, his voice monotone "I must say that your invitation in inviting…"  
>"Well let me excite you more then" he answered and quickly pulled something out of his pocket, pushing it in front of Sherlock's eyes, "Quick he answered, tell me what you see!"<p>

Sherlock stood watching him confused, yet highly entertained "It's paper designed to appear as whatever you expect to see..."  
>"Good…" The Doctor answered slowly "Very good"<br>Sherlock felt a warmness inside, the type he felt when he always deduced something correct- the feeling of understanding and confidence; yet it was not always attached to such a feeling of excitement, as most things were so dull.

"It would work on most weak minds" he continued "But for me, all I see is blank paper" he smiled to himself and The Doctor put it back into his pocket

"You're the second person I know that it hasn't worked on" he said with a grin, "Who was the first?" Sherlock asked.

"Shakespeare."

Sherlock understood what he said, yet he almost did not allow himself to compute it and within that moment he understood; he couldn't let this opportunity pass. Suddenly The Doctor was very close and he could feel his heart racing

"It has been awhile hasn't it?" he asked, The Doctor seemed to be momentary confused, what was he thinking he meant?

"Since you've had a passenger, Doctor" he continued "Judging by the state of your clothes and smell of your breath you haven't changed or eaten in more then 2 or 3 days; I'm sure Time Lords don't need to eat or have the same personal high gene standards as humans do but you seem to be struggling to remember those habits." The Doctor looked at him, not confronted yet serious

"I haven't slept for 2 days" he answered, "But as I observe from your posture and the colour of your eyes, you haven't either." It was true; Sherlock had been struggling to stand up for the majority of their meeting- tiredness beginning to perhaps finally grip him,

"Maybe you should sit down," The Doctor said, and attempted to move him back towards the chair "I'm perfectly fine standing" he answered, although his voice and low; his breath deep.

"Humans will start to struggle tremendously without food or sleep for 2 days" he said, and moved in closer towards Sherlock; "They may even start to see things…" Sherlock understood what he was implying "I think you would have understood that this is the diet I undertake for most of my cases" Sherlock said, his voice beginning to weaken slightly.

"How do you know this isn't just a dream?" The Doctor asked, his voice low

"There is no likely hood that this is a dream," Sherlock almost snapped back at him yet The Doctor did not seem taken back and if anything more intrigued.

"And that's what makes you brilliant Sherlock" The Doctor answered.

Sherlock watched him, The Doctor smiling; his face calm and knowing. "Let me take you" He said softly and moved in closer. Sherlock could feel questions running through his mind, he was not aware of the laws of time, he could not grasp that reality; as he did not have the knowledge to do so, and it disturbed him. Yet, how was he to learn unless he discovered them?

"One trip?" He asked, his voice low; the doctor was closer physically then he'd been with another for a long time; and the look in his eyes told him all he needed to know.

"Yes" he answered "But I warn you Sherlock…" suddenly stepping back and looking at him very seriously "Once you go on the first trip, you can never stop."

"I know" Sherlock said, "It's obvious you never did." The Doctor looked at him quizzical, Sherlock's inability to understand emotions was even slightly comforting; yet even if he could not understand them he could always detect the signs.

"And one more thing" Sherlock continued "Before we go on this 'first trip' I need to ask you a question" The Doctor was intrigued "What?"

"What's this?"

And with a sparkle in his eye Sherlock pulled out a strange small thin device, first appealing like an eccentric torch but under more inspection is seen to extend and admit sound, a blue glass covering the top. The Doctor stood staring whilst Sherlock watched him with a sly glare.

"Why you're…"

"Brilliant? Oh come now, it wasn't that hard to pickpocket you at that proximity"

The Doctor stood smiling at him, awe on his face

"Fantastic!" 

"That's not the reaction that people usually have when you pickpocket them"

"Yeah well… maybe it's because they weren't pickpocketing you too!"

And with a small flick of the hand The Doctor produced Sherlock's magnify glass from his sleave. Sherlock felt his chest tighten, and draw a deep breath; it had been years since anyone had been able to pickpocket him. The Doctor must have understood as he watched Sherlock with a look of thoughtfulness, smiling cheekily.

"How-"

Sherlock thought over the moment that he'd pickpocketed The Doctor and not once piece of evidence or action he cold detect the moment he'd been deceived. Suddenly the feeling of shock washed over him.

"You fooled me"

"Did I?" The Doctor knew he had "But you fooled me as well"

Sherlock smiled "I'm usually very good at that"

"Oh, but I'm not an easy man to deceive." The Doctor winked, he meant it in good nature. They watched each other for a moment and Sherlock could see something in The Doctor eyes, something he couldn't understand.

"So you want to know about my sonic screwdriver do you?"

"I see, it doesn't wound does it?" 


End file.
